The Palm Hold The Power

Body language makes up at least half of our face-to-face communication. While voices and choice of words can certainly convey emotion, body language can either reinforce or contradict what is said. The hands alone have a language all their own, and if you are aware of what different palm positions and gestures mean, you can alter your gestures to help make the point you want.

When a person speaks to you with open palms facing upward or towards you, it could indicate that he is being honest, feeling submissive or appealing to your understanding. You could use this gesture in a natural way to portray honesty. In fact, most people find it hard to tell a lie with their palms open. However, with practice it becomes easier to look sincere when telling a ‘story’. Do note that the little micro gestures that you unconsciously make may raise red flags to uncommonly observant people.

Think of a politician giving a campaign speech. If his or her palms are relaxed and open upward, it is a gesture indicating that they want you to think of them as your humble public servant. But their record and their actions may show that they are anything but conciliatory and servile.

Some researchers believe that accomplished liars learn to control facial expressions and hand gestures very well, but the signals from the legs and feet may give away their deceit. In other words, their palms could be signaling sincerity, while their shuffling feet say something quite different.

You can use the position of your palms to emphasize your meaning without contradicting your intentions. For example, one way a woman signals interest in a man is by moving her open, relaxed palm to her collarbone or to the shoulder on the same side as the palm. You can indicate a depth of feeling toward someone or something by lightly placing your open palm over your heart.

Your palms have a language all their own. “Reading palms” in this sense won’t predict your future, but it can certainly clue you in to the truthfulness of someone else’s communication. Remember, telling lies with your palms is much more difficult than telling lies with words.